Leg Day is a newsletter about the pursuit of joy as a city cyclist, which often involves silly group rides.
I have been working hard to expand my personal definition of biking weather this winter—basically the only one since I moved to New York where we got consistent snow from mid-December through late-Februrary—but this week has been a balmy treat. I experienced direct, unadulterated sunlight on my ride to the grocery store yesterday for the first time in months. Name a better feeling!
Since there are no guarantees the weather holds, I plan to capitalize by riding to a destination I’ve heard legend about since before I tried riding in the city. Did you know there’s a literal lighthouse in Manhattan? The Little Red Lighthouse is located at the northern tip of the island, just under the George Washington Bridge in Fort Washington Park. Apparently, it was only saved from sale and probable destruction because it is the subject of an adorable picture book. This Saturday at 11:30, I plan to ride to it from Brooklyn with some friends. Do you want to join us?
The plan: meet at Little Zelda in Crown Heights around 11 am. We’ll do a quick round of introductions, explain the route, and make sure everyone is on the same page about the ride vibe. I plan to take take the trip at JALOPY PACE, which I understand to be a speed anyone could maintain on a falling-apart bike for hours. This will also be a NO-DROP ride. The group will not leave you behind (unless, of course, you tell us you’re intentionally breaking off).
We will depart around 11:30 am. The trip to the lighthouse is about 16 miles, thanks to some construction on the Hudson River Greenway between 100th and 125th that we have to detour around. I anticipate it’ll take about 2 hours, depending on the size of the group we end up with. Once we arrive, I hope to be able to luxuriate for a bit at the park—I’m planning to pack and blanket and some snacks so that we can hangout a bit before heading back. I will probably bike back (I’m nasty like that), but you can also easily grab a train at 181st street. The A train has an elevator, but you might have to carry your bike up the stairs if you need to grab the 1. The total round trip distance is looking like it’ll be between 30-35 miles.
If you’d like to join, please reply to the email and let me know to look out for you! Feel free to share this post, forward this email, or DM the Instagram flyers to any friends who you think would be interested! Looking forward to seeing you!